Happily Ever After
by Shiny Jewel
Summary: For the September fic challenge, a happy story under 1,000 words. Deacon takes Maddie and Daphne shopping for a very important item. *Major fluff alert*


"You better hope she can keep a secret for once in her life," Maddie said to Deacon, looking pointedly at her little sister as the three of them walked through the front door of a small jewelry store in East Nashville.

"I can keep a secret," Daphne insisted, whirling around dramatically to face Maddie, her long blonde ponytail swinging. "I never told anyone about the crush you had on that boy in your math class."

Maddie's eyes went wide in horror as Daphne clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Oops," she mumbled innocently. "You won't tell anyone…right Deacon?"

Deacon bit back a laugh. "Not a soul," he answered, slinging his arm around Maddie as Daphne eagerly skipped ahead of them.

Though the craziness in the press surrounding their relationship had died down for the most part, Deacon was grateful that the wife of a long time AA buddy owned a jewelry store and was willing to open up an hour early so he could shop in privacy. The last thing he wanted was some online gossip column or tabloid to print a story about him buying an engagement ring before he had a chance to give it to Rayna.

"Thanks for doing this for us Jeanette," Deacon said, leaning in to kiss the cheek of the petite brunette standing behind the counter.

"I was happy to," she replied, smiling warmly at the girls. "So, how can I help y'all today?"

"We need to pick out a ring for my mom," Daphne announced proudly. "Deacon's gonna ask her to marry him." She looked at him and grinned. "It's a surprise."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Maddie muttered, glaring at Daphne, her cheeks still bright red with embarrassment.

"Do you have any idea what style you're looking for?" Jeanette asked. She unlocked the case in front of her and removed a velvet tray full of rings. "We've got a big selection here, so it might help to narrow it down a bit."

Deacon quickly scanned the rows and rows of diamonds sparkling back at him, all different shapes and sizes, suddenly overwhelmed with all the choices.

"I think mom would really like this one," Daphne squealed excitedly, pointing to a huge, gaudy canary diamond.

Jeanette removed it from the display and held it up to the light.

"Five carats. As close to flawless as you're going to get. It's extremely rare." She put the ring down and punched some numbers into a calculator. "This would run you…about…one hundred and fifty thousand."

"You've got some first class taste darlin'," Deacon told Daphne with a nervous laugh. "And as much as I'd love to get this for your mama, I think we're gonna have to find something a little less…rare. That is, unless you've got a rich husband hiding somewhere who I can get a loan from."

Daphne giggled. "I don't have a husband silly. I'm ten and a half."

"How about this one?" Maddie asked, her finger hovering over another ring inside the display.

Jeanette pulled it out of the case and passed it to Deacon.

"This one is a real classic. Emerald cut solitaire. Simple. Elegant." She smiled at him knowingly. "And more in your price range."

Deacon held the ring in between his thumb and index finger. He imagined putting it on Rayna and his heart began to pound in his chest. It was nowhere near as large and flashy as Rayna's engagement ring from Teddy, but even more beautiful in his opinion.

Most importantly, something about it just felt like Rayna to him.

"What do you say ladies?" he asked.

Maddie and Daphne crowded around and took turns inspecting it. They both shook their heads enthusiastically in approval.

As Deacon handed the ring back to Jeanette with a confident nod, his stomach did somersaults.

"This is the one," he said.

{*}

Rayna leaned back against Deacon's bare chest and sighed contentedly. They were sprawled out on a chaise in the bedroom of their darkened penthouse suite in downtown San Francisco, a throw blanket covering their naked bodies, surrounded by the glow of candles scattered throughout the room.

She'd been confused when Deacon insisted they skip the after-party and head back to the hotel right after the show, but she hadn't expected this.

Rayna stretched her left hand out so she could admire the ring on her finger.

"It's just perfect babe," she said, turning her head to kiss him gently on the lips.

Deacon rubbed his nose against hers.

"You're perfect."

"I can't wait to tell the girls."

"Well..." Deacon admitted, a grin spreading across his face, "they kind of already know."

Rayna's eyebrows arched in surprise. "What?"

"I needed to ask their permission. You know, make sure it was okay that I marry their mama."

Rayna turned in his arms so they were face to face and stroked his cheek softly.

"You're too sweet," she whispered.

"I had them come with me to help pick out the ring. Figured it wouldn't hurt to have a female perspective, though if it was up to the little one, you'd be wearing the hope diamond on your finger. She better marry rich."

Rayna laughed. "You know what? Even if it was from a crackerjack box, I'd still be the happiest woman in the world."

She reached for the two champagne flutes nestled in the ice bucket on the table next to them and poured sparkling water into each one. Deacon had the concierge send up champagne for Rayna to drink if she wanted, but having alcohol to celebrate their future together just didn't seem right.

She handed a glass to him and tapped her own against it lightly.

"To happily ever after," Rayna said, touching her forehead to his. "I figure if the universe owes anyone that, its us."


End file.
